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Monday, April 28, 2014

Recently, I found the picture below on Pinterest and thought this recipe sounded delicious. I thought it would be the perfect compliment to the brisket the Boy had on the Traeger, and whipped it up last night. Since then I have had tons of you asking for the recipe.

The meal was pretty good but I think it could use a few tweaks. Also, as the original recipe mentions the heat definitely builds, but I think the heat came more from the Rotel rather than the poblano peppers. Something you might consider if you make the recipe is switching out the Rotel for cherry tomatoes and some jalepenos. I felt that the salad didn't have a fresh enough taste and I think that might help. Also, I used can corn. Next time I am going to try and find fresh or I'll do frozen, to give it a "fresher" taste.

Overall, I would give this recipe a B+, but I think I'll give it another shot with a few of my teaks.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

As I put together my Five Favorite for Spring I feel like we haven't actually have that much Spring like weather. We've been receiving rain which we need, but the temperatures have remained cool. For Easter we took a quick trip to Fort Worth to see the Boy's sister and brother-in-law and the weather was awesome. Unfortunately, we weren't able to bring it back with us.

1. Kendra Scott Earrings - I have had my eyes on a pair of Kendra Scott earrings for awhile. With a little bit of left over birthday money I bought myself my first pair. Then the Boy surprised my with a bright pink pair for our 2nd anniversary! I went with the smaller Elle earrings and they are the perfect size.

2. Black Maxi Dress - I actually bought this maxi dress on my trip to Oklahoma in preparing for our vacation to the Dominican in May, however it has quickly become a favorite. It was so easy to dress up with my new earrings for our anniversary and then I dress it down with a jean jacket on our trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo.

3. MAC Patent Lip Polish - I love this new lipstick I received in our most recent Beauty Swap. I'll be blogging about all the items I receive soon, but I have to share this right away. They color is called Fearless and it is a lighter pink. I have a picture of me wearing it on my Crystal Cattle Instagram.

4. Rubber Boots - Good ole, plain ole, rubber boots! It has been muddy and wet around here and my trusty rubber boots have came in handy. Mine are actually dark green, and not fashionable, but completely practical. Rubber boots make checking on the new baby calves and feeding a lot easier.

5. Mindy Kaling - Currently, I am ready "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling, and I love it. Definitely a humorous read, combined with a biography of Mindy's life. It's been the perfect audiobook for all my recent travels.

I hope you have being enjoying spring! Perhaps there are a few new finds that have become your favorite. Also, if you were apart of the Beauty Swap don't forget to start working on your blog post. I'll be having the link up on May 2.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Last week I made another step towards my 101 in 1001 goal list. I remember once hearing from another blogger friend Katie Pinke that "comments are like candy," and it's true! Don't you get a little high when you see that someone has left you a comment? When I first started blogging I didn't think anyone was reading because I didn't get any comments. Even now lots of my blog posts don't get comments. However, through Google Analytics I know you are reading, you just aren't always commenting.

One of the goals I set for myself was to leave 25 comments on blogs in one week, and last week I accomplished that. There are so many blogs that I read, find interesting and even share with others, yet I don't take the time to leave a comment. Last week I wanted to share a little bit of "candy" and left lots of comments. I actually went over my 25 comment goal.

I hope I was able to spread a little cheer in some of my favorite bloggers lives. And maybe this week you'll consider leaving a few more comments on the blogs you love reading.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Today, the Boy and I are celebrating our second wedding anniversary. I couldn't ask for a better husband and best friend. It is amazing how quickly time has flown by. In the past two years we have survived many of the marriage "tests" - moving, buying a house and farm, working cattle together, starting renovations on a house, painting a bathroom! The best part is that I think we are passing with flying colors.

On our wedding program the Boy and I shared how we met. It's a fun story and I thought I would share it here today.

How we met - told by Crystal and Jon

Crystal: Through cattle shows and my internship with the American Hereford Association I had known who Jon was, but our paths hadn’t crossed before. I actually thought he was a little arrogant. Later he proved me very wrong.

Jon: While watching the Hereford Bull Show in Denver at the National Western Stock Show, I had seen Crystal in the Angus ring shooting photos. Little did I know our paths would cross later that evening.

Crystal: Each year at Stock Show my friends, including Kristi Bishop, and I always get together Judging Team night at the Double Tree Hotel Bar. Kristi was also a very good friend of Jon’s and he decided to join in on the fun.

Jon: Before going to Denver my dad and I had talked about a new show I am Angus. He was very high on the show. I had never seen it, but I knew Crystal was involved with the show. As Crystal walked by our table that night I said, “Hey aren’t you the girl that works on I am Angus.” She responded yes, and I told her how great I thought it was even though she had no idea I had never seen the show.

Crystal: That is when Jon used his first pick up line ever and said, “Do you want to make I am Baldy?” I told him why don’t you have Craig Huffines (CEO of the Hereford Association) give me a call.

Jon: We continued talking that night and I bought many rounds of drinks for Crystal and her friends, and perhaps surrounding tables. Fun was had by all.

Crystal: Jon definitely peaked my interest that night. We spent sometime talking about Calf Fry, a country music concert that I traveled to Stillwater each year for, to hang out with Kristi. Jon had also been to it in the past and I told him I would make my famous Oklahoma shaped French Toast if he joined Kristi and I again this year. However, we went our separate ways without any phone numbers exchanged.

Fast forward a few weeks.

Crystal: I had been thinking about Jon a little more, and decided that I should do some background checks on him. I had a supper with Chris Stephens, past National Junior Hereford Director of Activities, in Manhattan a few weeks later and decided to ask him about Jon. I also sent emails to Jon and I’s mutual friends Kristi and Catie Sims. Their reaction was all very much the same to begin with – a little surprised. However, they all told me he was a great guy, with an awesome family, lots of fun and the more they thought about it the more they liked the idea.

Jon: Crystal was in Des Moines, Iowa, for a weekend with her girlfriends and had sent me a facebook message telling me I should meet up with the girls and her that night. I was in the race shop with Troy and Travis and was exchanging messages back and forth via Facebook with Crystal. They asked who I was talking to and I pulled up a picture of Crystal and said this is my future wife. I wasn’t able to make it to Des Moines that weekend though because of working on the race car and calves had to be clipped for Iowa Beef Expo, but I promised I would to go to Calf Fry in April.

Fast forward to April

Crystal: I was excited to be making my second trip to Calf Fry. Dana May was road tripping with me, and Kristi had offered her place to us again. I knew Jon would be also coming and Dana and I had talked a lot about my excitement of seeing him again.

Jon: Crystal and I had a great time at the concert. That night when we got back to Kristi’s house Crystal was giving me hell for having Herefords, so I showed her our latest sale catalog. After a while she agreed they weren’t terrible.

Crystal: And Jon got a kiss out of it.

Jon: Kristi yelled at me the next morning and said, “You better not screw this weekend up and make the house awkward for everyone.” I said, “This is a trailer, not a house.”

Crystal: Despite Kristi’s initial concerns the weekend went great, and when we went our separate ways I told Jon he could get my number from Kristi if he wanted it.

Jon: As Kristi drove me to the airport she said she could get Crystal’s number off her phone, I had informed her I had already done so that morning.

Crystal: Jon wasted no time called me that night, and we made plans for him to stop in St. Joseph on his way back from the Star Lake Sale in a couple weeks.

Fast forward to after the sale

Crystal: We had talked on the phone every night between Calf Fry and the sale, so I was very excited to see Jon again. When he got to my house he asked me if I was his girlfriend, I said yes, which was a good thing since I found out later Jon had already told people at the sale I was.

Friday, April 4, 2014

My life through Instagram and p.s. I am really excited that it is Friday!

As I mentioned in my Five Things I am Loving post I am so happy with my new handbag. It is the perfect combination of black and brown, and definitely a classic.

We are still calving and had three babies this week. This little guys was born backwards so we had to pull him. Baby calves should come front feet and head first. If they come butt first it is usually really hard for their mommas to have them on their own. We intervene and this little bull (boy) calf is doing great.

Have you tried Lush Bath Bombs? The Boy got a bunch of them for me for my birthday and they are awesome. Our bathroom smelt like roses for three days I think, and my skin felt amazing. The only question I have for those that have used them is how do you get all the potpourri stuff out of your tub afterwards?

We finally have kitchen chairs. My parents bought us this Pottery Barn table for our wedding, but we couldn't get the table until we moved into our new home as the little house was just that too little. Nine months after we got the table we finally bought the matching chairs!

To celebrate all women in agriculture and Sierra's new poem she is giving away one of the poems.

"God said, "I need somebody strong enough to tamp posts and heave bales, to co-sgin a loan for half a million with steady hands, yet gentle enough to tame show steers and raise kids and calm the rancher when he's upset over high corn and lower fat cattle..."

I can definitely relate to so many lines in this poem. Farm and ranch wives are not only an important part of the the farm or ranch, but they also have a household and often a family to tend to.

My 8-5 is spent inside and usually behind a computer, but I love the time I spent outside working beside the boy on our farm.

Be sure to check our Sierra's store as she is selling both of these prints.

Below is how to enter, and if you don't have a blog just leave a comment with which of the posts would you choose.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

There have been so many things that I have been wanting to share with you and after seeing Ashley Kennedy's Five Things I Can't Live Without Post I decided to do my own.

1. This is my new Dourney and Burke handbag! I spent my birthday money on this little gal and I love her. I really considered buying a brown bag, but I wear so much black that this was the perfect compromise. My life definitely makes me laugh. Shortly after getting home from my shopping trip I had on muck boots and was literally calf high mud and cow muck trying to get a cow out of the pasture and into the barn. That is the life of a Rockin' Rural Woman.

2. It was time for me to buy another primer and I decided to go back to MAC. I am a huge believer in primer and have used the MAC Prep + Prime before will great results. This time I tried Prep + Primer Natural Radiance primer and I love the way my foundation lays on it, and helps all my make-up stay put throughout the day.

3. If you have read my 101 in 1001 updates listening 60 hours of audio books is a goal I am working on. I am currently listening to Laura Bush's Spoken from the Heart. I love the book. Mrs. Bush starts all the way from when she was a little girl through George W. Bush's presidency, 9-11, re-election and more. Plus, her voice is amazing. I wish she was the narrator of all my audio books.

4. I have a hard time finding jeans that I like, but I think I can say BKE Peyton jeans are the jeans for me. I love the cut - the perfect boot cut and they are high waisted so I don't have to worry about the big gap or exposing myself. They come in lots of colors and have all kinds of pocket designs.

5. This EyeKo eyeliner is awesome. Sara Hewitt my first Beauty Swap partner sent it to me. I have already gone through my first tub and will be purchasing more soon. I sometimes have a hard time applying liquid liner and this brand seems to be fool proof!

And speaking of Beauty Swap I'm hosing another one. Be sure to check out all the details and sign up before April 4, 2014!

About Me

These are just a few of the stories that make up the life of an ag girl. I have a passion for agriculture, and want to see farmers remain on the land, raising food for all of us. You'll also get a dash of cattle life from around the country as I travel for work, and some commentary on my hectic life. I love photography, video production, K-State (yes I bleed purple), the livestock industry and have bounced from Alberta, to Kansas, to Missouri, to Iowa. Stay tuned. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @crystalcattle